Furman to host conference on China

As the G20 summit takes place in London, England and the US and China have privately been dubbed the G2, relations between the two countries have never been more important. That is why a conference on China being held at Furman University this Tuesday and Wednesday could not be more timely.

The conference will be hosted by the Riley Institute and Furman’s Asian Studies Department in association with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations’ Public Intellectual Program. Kate Kaup, an Associate Professor in the Asian Studies Department, says the conference will feature experts on relations between the two countries including China’s point of view on the U.S. “The first night at 8:00 p.m. we will have the deputy-chief of missions from the People’s Republic of China’s Embassy giving an address on U.S.-China relations and prospects of the future,” said Kaup.

“And then on Wednesday beginning at 3:30 (p.m.) we will have two panels, the first panel will focus primarily on U.S.-China relations. We have an internationally recognized and probably one of the premier American scholars from China and he will present the Chinese view of the U.S.-China relationship.”

Kaup also says it would be foolish to ignore the economic relationship between the two countries. She says that China has a vested interest in the economy of the U.S. and would benefit from a quick economic recovery. “I think right now given the global climate we’re going to need to focus quite a bit on the economic situation and China’s response,” she said.

“I think there has been quite a bit of coverage of China holding on to such a huge portion of the U.S. Treasury Bonds and maintaining such a high currency reserve. But I think what doesn’t get covered quite as much as it should is that this makes China very interested in seeing a rapid U.S. recovery.”

The conference is free to the public and will be held at the Younts Conference Center.